In the 6th segment of our final panel at the Mix n' Mentor event in Dubai this November, Muhammed Mekki of Namshi explains how the fashion e-commerce company maintained its culture as it scaled, and how having a solid strategy and alignment with its partners at the beginning was critical. Then they made specific decisions to hire based upon that culture. 

Brian Sigafoos of Duplays discusses how the sports platform relies on freelancers, and why defining Duplay's values and culture was critical for the company's growth. "Now every hiring an firing decision we amke based upon those values." 

When the panel turns to take crowd questions, David Haddad of PressPass asks how Namshi recruited 150 people within one year, and whether it imported talent or found them locally. As Joi Ito leaves to catch his plane, Mekki explains how the company began by importing talent for key positions but quickly moved to hire most of its talent in Dubai. 

In answer to another crowd question, Mekki explains how Namshi leverages Google Analytics and other sources to take a very data-driven approach and optimize their marketing and buying.

Want more tips from our Mix N' Mentor panel? Check out what our panelists had to say about:

• Agility, Focus and the Power of Pull: Tips from Fadi Ghandour and Joi Ito
• Why Entrepreneurs Don't Need MBAs to Succeed
• How the Private Sector Can Support Startups
• Entering the Saudi Market, and Global Trends for 2013
• Why Gamers Make Great Managers & Tips on Startup Culture
• Why Startups Should Support Sustainability
• Tips from Fadi Ghandour on Bootstrapping